Police Brutality in NYC

Police brutality is the use of excessive physical force, including beating citizens with hands or batons, or using guns, and even lethal weapons. For the vast majority of citizens, this is something they never have experienced. Many police officers go their entire careers without ever having to draw their weapon or even engage in a serious physical confrontation in order to protect themselves or the public from an offender. A very small percentage of law enforcement officials, however are guilty of using excessive force against suspects without reason to do so. Police hold the responsibility of protecting the citizens of the communities they serve. They play an important role in keeping our communities safe, and in most cases, most policemen and women perform this job admirably. In tense situations, there are times when police are called on to make quick decisions in difficult circumstances in order to protect their own safety and that of innocent bystanders. However, in any situation where aggressive police behavior raises questions about the appropriateness of the reaction, it is important to investigate the accusations promptly and thoroughly. This is necessary in order to protect the community from the few police who choose to abuse their power, and also to maintain the

community's confidence in the honest men and women who work hard to protect their communities.

Police are responsible for protecting the citizens of the communities they serve. Any form of brutality by police should be immediately and thoroughly investigated in order to protect communities, and to preserve respect for and cooperation with police forces. As of 2012, there were an estimated 800,000 police officers in the US. It must be clearly stated that incidents of police brutality involve only a tiny fraction of police officers. The vast majority perform their jobs satisfactorily while respecting citizens' constitutional rights. A very small percentage of law enforcement officials, however, are guilty of using excessive force against suspects without reason to do so. Although such actions are illegal--both in the United States and in many other countries—many incidents of police brutality go unreported and unprosecuted. In recent years, video cameras have become common both in squad cars, facing in front of the car, where interactions with citizens take place after motor vehicle stops, and in police stations, where prisoners are held and transported. Besides that, with the camera phones, common citizens are able to quickly and discretely record incidents of police violence that they happen to witness. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult to ignore allegations of police brutality when video footage of such incidents may exist.

With increased attention being paid to incidents of police brutality, lawsuits being brought against both the officers and the government for which they work, and a focus on the psychological conditions that may affect those officers that violently abuse citizens, there is

hope that police brutality can be better understood, reduced, and eventually eradicated. When Americans think of the history of police brutality, there are several historical events that form the backdrop for this social problem. Although thousands of undocumented and unrecorded incidents of police brutality undoubtedly have occurred, it was not until the advent of videotape that Americans who previously had no knowledge of police brutality began to truly understand this issue. The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s was accompanied by many incidents of police brutality committed against African Americans and their supporters. The pictures and videos of these incidents, broadcast on national television, included nonviolent protestors being tear-gassed, beaten with billy clubs, and even sprayed with fire hoses.

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...﻿PoliceBrutality is Prevalent
Background Information
Over the recent years, police have been one of the organizations to be associated with the largest cases of misconduct. Policebrutality can be termed as the process of misuse and abuse of authority by the police. The rising cases of policebrutality are causing more harm to the public, compared to the actions perpetrated by real criminals. Although police claim that it’s sometimes necessary to curb crime, the process is illegal and police officers should be charged just like any other criminal offender. It should be the responsibility of the justice system to establish effective strategies to deal with the rising illegal activities in order to restore public trust in the law enforcement authorities. The police, the group with the responsibility of protecting citizens, commit illegal activities.
Individuals engaged in law enforcement activities can define policebrutality as the process of using excessive force. In addition to the abuse of power by the police force, the term is also used to illustrate the misuse of power by individuals in the municipal, correctional facilities and other facilities subjected to reforming and retaining criminals. In a case reported in the year 2011, SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team,...

...1
Police Abuse
Hope Hagan
Saint Leo University
Michael Singer
Word count: 1691
Police Abuse
Policebrutality is the excessive, unreasonable use of force against citizens, suspects, and offenders. A study showed that most citizens complained against police officers because of the use of profanity and abusive language towards them, the use of commands to move on or get home, stopping and questioning people on the street or searching them and their cars without probable cause, the use of threats to use force if not obeyed, prodding with a nightstick or approaching with a pistol, and actual use of physical force or violence itself for no reason at all. Policebrutality causes a lack of communication between minority groups and the police department and a lack of trust because of previous run-ins with brutality. In some cases policebrutality runs over into an officer's personal life as well. There have been several cases where an officer is arrested due to domestic violence and leads to an investigation of their work life. Most of the time there are cover ups, when domestic disputes occur so that the department does not get negative coverage if the incident was to get out, (2002, November). Ethics are considered a structure for most departments in the United States.
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...Throughout history, efforts to police society have been flawed by brutality in one way or another. PoliceBrutality exists in many countries and is only one of several forms of police misconduct. Abuse by law enforcement officers in the United States is one of the most serious human rights violations in the country. Police officers have engaged in unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment. The history of policebrutality is cyclical, going through phases of violence, corruption, and reform.
Policebrutality is the excessive use of physical force, assault, verbal attacks, and threats by police officers and other law enforcement officers. The targets of the violence are usually the poor, the working class, political dissidents, and ethnic minorities. Policebrutality is often associated with racial profiling. Differences in race, religion, politics, and socioeconomic status between police and citizens can contribute to how some police officers view the population as generally deserving punishment. Cases in which police officers, prison guards, and other law enforcement authorities have used excessive force or other tactics to violate victims’ civil rights have increased twenty-five percent from 2001 to...

...Police officers are government officials who are appointed to enforce the law and maintain order in society. While placed in dangerous and stressful situations, a law enforcement official has been trained to administer the law in an unbiased way that will maintain the trust of the public and not violate a citizen’s rights (Cooper 1930). While police are trained for this there is still a major problem known as abuse of authority. Abuse of authority occurs when men and women in law enforcement disregard policies, rules, or laws in which they are trained and are to properly administer while on duty. One form of abuse of authority is policebrutality. Policebrutality is the use of excessive force by an officer in the form of physical abuse, verbal abuse, and through psychological intimidation (Mangan,2000).
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According to recent studies there are thousands of reports each year of officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. In many cases police go too far when they excessively punch, kick, and beat people who pose no threat (Mangan, 2000). When this type of brutality occurs, it should be considered a criminal act and investigated as a crime.
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...Enforcement
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PoliceBrutality
Unfortunately, nowadays the people who are supposed to protect us and help us when we are in need, sometimes cannot be trusted. Policebrutality has always been a problem, but there's been a dramatic rise in police murders and brutalization of citizens. PoliceBrutality is anything from harassment from a police officer to being murdered by one.Police officers risk their lives everyday they put on their uniform. They serve the community by keeping it safe from those who break the law. Police are trained to use force when necessary and to have discretion on how much force to use on someone. The tactics they use are to apprehend a criminal, and to keep those who are around a criminal, safe. Officers carry weapons such as a baton, mace, or a gun. These weapons are to keep themselves and the communities they serve safe. Sometimes officers who are either not properly trained or who neglect to use the appropriate amount of force on a suspect, can suffer the consequences of policebrutality. “Policebrutality is a civil rights violation that occurs when a police officer acts with excessive force by using an amount of force with regards to a civilian that is more than necessary. Excessive force by a law enforcement officers is a violation...

...﻿Policebrutality, where does it happen, why does it happen and how does it happen? Well these are some of the questions you can ask yourself. Most of the time police officers are trying to enforce the laws of the land. But we typically have those who do not want to follow the rules and therefore police are forced with using excessive force in some of their situations. But the use of force can be questioned in many ways. The 4th Amendment forbids “unreasonable search and seizures”, with a “seizure” being the use of unreasonable force. Then with the offender often being arrested and incarcerated they have the 8th amendment that protects them from cruel and unusual punishment. But should someone be accustomed to being assaulted by a police officer just because? No. But this does not stop people from doing what they feel is necessary and breaking the laws.
What type of person commits policebrutality and why does it happen? Well, policebrutality is done by a few rogue cops or bad apples. Or it can be police officers whom like to inflict pain to those because of their feelings on the issue. This happens because there is no order in some of the departments. At least that is what I believe. “Police work is likely to attract at least some individuals who enjoy bullying others or join the force with the intention of...

...﻿Why does the public find use of force by police so disturbing? Are the police using more force?
With so much going on in the media, the public is more terrified of the police. Many are not comfortable with calling up Law Enforcement. Many feel police officers abuse their authority. It seems as if they’re abusing their authority as police officers. In many situations claiming self-defense. Young teens and children being gunned down by law enforcement. Many afraid to call upon law enforcement, afraid of their own safety. Police officers should be a part of the community not against the community.
We all know the story of Oscar Grant, 22 year old African American young man fatally shot by a Bart police officer in Oakland, California early New Year’s Day in 2009. Yes he was resisting arrest but he was hand cuffed lying face down. How can a police officer feel threatened when Oscar Grant was clearly restrained. Police officers should be trained to handle situations with their best judgment possible. These are supposed to be who protects the community not cause harm to the community. One example of the police using more force today. There’s more people being killed by police then being saved. This is who our government highers to protect the community.
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...Abstract
Police corruption can be defined as an act involving the misuse of authority by a law enforcement officer. Throughout history in the United States of America, there has always been an element of corruption in the different police agencies. The two key elements that lead to an officer becoming corrupt are misuse of their police authority, as well as, monetary gains. Due to the fact that police officers are human, and face everyday life problems, contributes to the possibility and reason for corruption among the departments. In any organization where an individual is put into a position of power, the possibility of corruption exists, and especially when it’s an individual who enforces the law. Corruption and policebrutality by an officer are just a few examples of misconduct, which leads to the many different cases police departments face every year. With there being no set plan to remedy corruption and wrong doing within the police department, it is imperative that we establish a program that can help enforce the rules and regulations within the department to help control officers behavior. “Corruption involves a range of actions encompassing an officer’s misuse of his or her authority for personal gain” (Grant &amp; Terry, 2012).
It is extremely difficult to measure the extent of the corruption in a department, simply because the covertness...